Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on January 11, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Bears found out last Sunday that they will host the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field this Sunday. 

The Bears played Seattle at home back in Week 6 and Seattle ended up winning that game 23-20.  The Bears hadn’t put things together that well at that time and just two games later, they started their five game winning streak and lost just two games (after the bye). 

The Bears are a much different team this time around.

Seattle may be a different team than the Bears faced back in Week 6 as well. They have improved their rushing attack and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is doing a nice job of completing passes down the field, being patient and he’s making his offense better.

Can the Bears stop Hasselbeck, the rest of their offense attack this Sunday? Can Chicago’s offense get by Seattle’s defense?

Here is a quick look at the Seattle Seahawks as we head in to the middle part of the week before the game. 

There will be a much larger and a much more detailed preview coming at the end of this week.

Biggest Threat

The Seahawks may not be the most explosive offense in the NFL, but they have some nice balance on both sides of the ball. 

Their biggest threat to the Beas is quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck has the ability to control games with his arm as we saw in their game against the Saints. 

If you don’t get pressure on him, he will beat you.

The Bears didn’t get any pressure on Hasselbeck in the last meeting and he picked the Bears defense apart. 

Chicago’s front four needs to have a huge game in order to throw Hasselbeck off balance and not allow him to pass his way to a victory.

Biggest Weakness

Seattle has struggled in the running game, but you wouldn’t know it from the game that they played against the Saints on Saturday. 

The Bears are second in the NFL in defending against the run, but in their first game against Seattle, they allowed them to run the ball well on a regular basis with both Justin Forsett and Marshawn Lynch getting a touchdown and over 100 yards combined.  

Seattle may try to establish the run first to help keep the Bears off balance and force them to worry about the run and not put so much pass pressure on Hasselbeck. 

Chicago has to shut the run down early, forcing the Seahawks to be one dimensional and pass the ball.

That’s where their pass rushing focus can begin and hopefully they can control the game, keep Hasselbeck from making big plays down the field and beating the Bears.

The X-Factor

The X-factor in all of this might be the field that the Bears play this game on; not Solider Field, but the actual field that the Bears are playing on. 

It’s winter, it’s going to be cold and the footing on Soldier Field is only good for about one series before the sod starts to come up and there starts to be problems. 

The Bears have lost four of their five games at home this season and could have struggled in the Patriots and Jets games due to the conditions of the field.

The turf on Soldier Field doesn’t allow teams to be “fast.” It’s not like artificial turf, which is a fast turf that allows players to play much better and faster than natural grass does. You don’t have the clumping of dirt that you do on natural grass. 

It’s been said that this type of surface affects the Bears pass rush by not allowing them to get traction and gain speed to get up the field and make plays.

Whether or not this is a myth remains to be seen but both teams may have problems with the turf and this could even things up a little bit.

Early Prediction

Without knowing how both team’s injury status is, it might be a little difficult to make an accurate prediction, but the Bears are (as heard through the media) healthy on all fronts and ready to go. 

They will be well-rested, playing at home and have a much better team that they did in Week 6. 

The Seahawks will be coming in with some momentum, riding high after their stunning defeat of the Saints on Saturday.

The Bears should still be able to win this game and advance to the NFC Championship Game.

Chicago 28 Seattle 17

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